Number
SwagUp: $5K first month to a $55M run rate, founder age 26
Steph cites SwagUp (founded 2017) as proof the better-swag model works: $5K in its first month, $3.3M in its first year, on track for $55M in sales, run by a 26-year-old founder.
$55M
SwagUp annual sales run rate · USD/year
“But this company SwagUp, they started in 2017. Uh, they did $5K their first month, $3.3 million in their first year, and today they're on track to do $55 million in sales. And the founder is 26 years old.”
Idea
Premium swag for VIPs: charge 10x for cool, taste-driven branded gear
Shaan argues there's an opening above SwagUp: brands rewarding high rollers and VIP partners will pay 5–10x more for genuinely cool swag (custom sneakers, a vinyl-wrapped PS5 controller) that only costs a little more to make.
“If I'm going to spend on a t-shirt $5 apiece, I'll spend easily and maybe even 10 times more. I'll spend $50 apiece if you can give me something that's unique, going to stand out, be memorable, because my business value with these high rollers or my VIPs is very, very high.”
Steal thisSell taste-driven premium swag (vinyl-wrapped retail products) to brands rewarding VIPs and charge 5-10x the price of a t-shirt.